Poll Shows Kach Party Would Gain if Elections Were Held Now

A public opinion poll taken by the Pori Research Institute and published in Haaretz shows that 10.6 percent of those who voted for the Likud in the last Knesset elections would now cast their ballots for the extremist Kach Party of Rabbi Meir Kahane.

The poll showed that while Labor and its supporters would maintain their majority, winning 36.1 percent of the vote — down slightly from the 37.1 percent gained in the elections — the Likud would decline from 31.9 percent at the elections to 22.8 percent today.

Rightwing parties — Kach and Tehiya — would increase their strength from 5.2 to 16 percent. The main increase would be in the Kach Party, jumping from 1.2 percent at the voting over a year ago to nine percent today. Tehiya would increase from four percent to seven percent.

But another poll published in Maariv and taken by the Modi’in Ezrachi Institute shows little change during the past two months. This poll gives the Labor Alignment 53 seats if elections were held now, the Likud 30, Tehiya seven and Kach five seats. Other parties would hold their present representation, with very minor differences. Both polls were published last Friday.